---------------------------------------------------------------- The Navy Public Affairs Library (NAVPALIB) A service of the Navy Office of Information, Washington DC Send feedback/questions to navpalib@opnav-emh.navy.mil ---------------------------------------------------------------- Remarks as delivered by The Honorable John H. Dalton Secretary of the Navy BLUEBACK Dedication Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Portland, Oregon 14 May 1994 STILL ON PATROL--BUT SILENT NO LONGER Thank you, Dick [RADM Riddell--COMNAVBASE SEATTLE/COMSUBGRU 9] for the kind introduction. I am particularly honored to follow Senator Mark Hatfield, who--I am proud to point out--began his distinguished fifty-year career in public service as an officer in the United States Navy. As President John F. Kennedy once said: "Any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile...can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, 'I served in the United States Navy.'" And that will be true in the next century as well. To understand the significance of this event and what the BLUEBACK represents, we must start at the beginning. In 1959, as I was graduating from high school, the Cold War was at its height. The Iron Curtain seemed impenetrable. Only three years before, Hungary had been ruthlessly crushed by the Warsaw Pact. Two years before, the Soviet Union had launched the first man-made satellite, and boasted that their rockets--tipped with nuclear weapons--could reach any city in the world. A year before, United States Marines landed to end a crisis in Lebanon and the U.S. Seventh Fleet was interposed between Taiwan and mainland China. It was a world in which Western security seemed uncertain, and a global struggle imminent. In 1959, into this world of uncertain security, the USS BLUEBACK was placed in commission as a warship of the United States Navy. She was the third submarine to have a radically new hull design--the ALBACORE hull...the tear drop shape that we can discern from her outline. She was different, but built upon the experience of fleet boats of World War Two. John P. Holland, one of America's pioneer submarine builders, had recommended just such a form over forty years before...a form that would optimize underwater speed and maneuverability. But this new hull design required advances in technology that came in the 1950's...that came as part of the technical revolution that would bring us the computer and the space age. These elements--the quest for Western security, the spirit of American invention, and the continuing advances in our technology--are what built the BLUEBACK. They are among the elements that brought her here, to be a permanent display at a museum dedicated to science and industry. For BLUEBACK was very much a technical marvel in its day--a hull design that the Navy would later combine with nuclear power and ballistic missiles to fashion the submarine deterrent force of the present. But as marvelous as its technology may appear, a submarine alone is but an empty shell. It takes a courageous, dedicated crew of sailors to make it into a warship. And that was true of the crews of BLUEBACK. They were American submariners...a breed apart, even within their own Service. Their legacy was the courage of the brave men who went down in the first American submarines when others doubted they would come up. Their heritage was the dedication of the officers and sailors who perfected the art of undersea warfare in the cramped "pig-boats" of the inter-war years. Their inspiration was the heroism of the brave men who sailed alone into the heart of the enemy--to destroy it from within its own waters. During her lifetime, BLUEBACK never fired a shot in anger. But she was ready. She was ready because a generation of submarine sailors taught us how to fight...often at the cost of their lives. She was ready because the United States Navy was determined to maintain a solid line of defense, and deter the global threat of an expanding Soviet empire. And she was ready because the spirit of our wartime heroes-- men such as Captain John Cromwell, Commander Howard Gilmore, Commander Dudley "Mush" Morton--still lived within the submarine force...as it does today. This spirit was alive in all of submarines throughout the Cold War, and it is what brought our victory in that global contest. Of this, BLUEBACK is a symbol...a representation of this spirit and this victory. In my mind, these two elements transcend the technical importance of the hull that is to be on public display...they are why we are dedicating BLUEBACK here--to teach about the spirit of our brave submariners and what they did to preserve our freedom. BLUEBACK is here as a memorial to every sailor who ever served in the "Silent Service," and especially the crews of our submarines that have been lost in war and in peace...sailors who remain on eternal patrol. We dedicate BLUEBACK's final patrol here in Portland in order to help break the silence about what the "Silent Service" accomplished, in hot war and in Cold. She will no longer run silent and run deep. Rather, I hope her presence will speak loudly to our young people, even as it brings back memories in those of us who are older, but still young-spirited. This dedication is an emotional ceremony for me. In 1964, Ensign John Dalton strode across a platform leading to the deck of USS BLUEBACK. It was my entry into the "Silent Service," into the United States Submarine Force. It was my entry into the operating fleet, into the combat forces of the finest Navy in the world. And it was my entry into the adventure that became my life...a life that has never taken me too far away from the Service that we all love, the United States Navy. A number of my shipmates are in the audience today, and I appreciate their support. One who is here and had a great influence in molding me as a junior officer and fostering my love for the Navy was my Executive Officer, Dudley Carlson...every sailor knows how much an XO can indeed influence their life. He did mine. But Vice Admiral Carlson continued to influence many in the Navy as the only officer aboard BLUEBACK--to my knowledge- -to make Flag Rank and then Three Stars. I hope, however, he won't tell too many sea stories during the reception. Dudley is well known for his stories, but you can't always put one-hundred percent faith in their accuracy. Now, as the Secretary of the Navy--a position that was never even a dream in the mind of Ensign Dalton...or Lieutenant Commander Carlson--I have the opportunity to return to BLUEBACK as she enters the final phase of her life...and to do so to commemorate the selfless dedication of the sailors of our submarine force. Therefore, on behalf of the Department of the Navy, I formally present the BLUEBACK to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Marilynne Eichenger, the President of OMSI, Ray Steinfeld, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Admiral Jack Barrett, their senior advisor, have assured me that BLUEBACK will remain shipshape, an informative display, and a fitting memorial. In entrusting them with this submarine, I charge them with preserving and presenting the spirit and the pride. We who currently serve in the Department of the Navy, along with the veterans of our submarine force, are proud of our accomplishments...proud of what submariners have done to protect the freedom of our country...proud of those who have demonstrated the courage and ability to serve beneath the distant seas...and proud of the love and support of our families in carrying out our perilous quest. This is a pride brought by great success; it is also the pride of men and women who have made great sacrifices for their Nation and who know that these sacrifices have made all the difference. The world has indeed changed a great deal since I first set foot on the deck of this submarine. The Cold War is over, a victory that our determination and our strength helped bring about. Although there are--and will always be--hazards to peace, democracy and economic freedom are now accepted as the world standards. But what has not changed, what will not change, is the dedication of the men and women of the United States Navy to safeguarding our freedom. Our Navy today is made up of the highest quality people in the history of our Service. We need to continue this legacy by recruiting over 56,000 quality sailors this year, next year and the year after that. In this number will be the future of our submarine force, and I want to ask everyone in this audience to help me get the word out that, even while "right-sizing," the Navy is still hiring. Some people have the mistaken impression that a naval career is a thing of the past. Nothing can be further from the truth. The final patrol of the BLUEBACK here on the Wilamette does not so much represent the Navy of the past, as it does the challenge of the future...and the spirit that links future deeds with a heroic tradition. As always, the future of the submarine force will be different than today. New Attack Submarines will follow SEAWOLF, which will follow LOS ANGELES-class, just as BLUEBACK followed the fleet boats. But as always, the gold and silver dolphins will mark sailors who are a breed apart--those who sail with courage beneath the distant seas. We will continue to build the most capable submarines in the world and crew them with the most capable sailors. And we will continue to preserve the freedoms that those before us fought for...both above and below the waves. That will not change. So as we commence the memorial service for the submarines and crew members who remain on eternal patrol, I would like all to remember that--even as we speak--our submarines of today are at sea in the far distant regions of the world...near areas of crisis...carrying out the task handed from previous generations of submariners. I think there is no greater tribute to our heroes than to continue their watch and to rededicate our efforts in ensuring that the blessings of liberty will not perish from this earth. -USN-